Services

Sometimes, I feel like CDW configuration services are the best-kept secret in enterprise IT. The customers who have relied on us for years keep coming back because of how much time and energy we can save them, allowing their internal IT staff to focus more on mission-critical projects than device configuration.

But many business and IT leaders simply don’t know that we’re out here (or what we do). As a result, they tie up their own IT professionals with time-consuming — but necessary — tasks and projects that end up extending the amount of time it takes to get devices into users’ hands.

Here are six ways that configuration services can help your business simplify its operations.

With Azure, organizations have many choices to make, from which services to use to how to purchase, manage and govern its use. In October 2019, Microsoft announced changes to the volume licensing programs in ways that affected a customer’s ability to acquire Azure. Specifically, Microsoft:

1. Will no longer write new Azure-only Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE) agreements
2. Will no longer renew Azure-only SCE agreements and subject any extended contracts to a 3 percent administrative fee
3. Will no longer allow Azure to be added to existing Enterprise Agreement (EA) contracts

Regardless of the vendor, when we discuss call routing in a telephony platform we’re almost always focused on the destination of the call. Similar to how the postal service operates, when the system is delivering the call or message, we are rarely focused on who the originator is. Keeping that in mind, it doesn’t take much imagination to come up with a few scenarios where it may be beneficial to block specific numbers, or ranges of numbers from reaching your end users.

In this blog post, I’ll show you how to implement a check on the calling party number (CPN) in a Cisco voice solution and keep those pesky spam calls at bay.

In order to illustrate the logic, let’s define some key components and run through a few examples.

It is an understatement to say that 2020 has been a year filled with unknowns. So, it’s not surprising that many organizations are holding off on planned IT upgrades, waiting to see what the future holds before they expend significant capital on a data center refresh.

Companies do, however, need ongoing support for their data center infrastructure. For those that had previously planned to replace equipment when the original warranty expired, some form of extended support will be necessary.

Business and IT leaders can choose between extended support contracts from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or third-party maintenance (TPM) providers — each of which has its own unique benefits.

When I begin working with an organization on its collaboration efforts, I often find that the company already supports a number of tools. Some have different solutions for different functions, such as calling, messaging, file sharing and video meetings. And others run multiple platforms that essentially do the same things.

It’s sometimes necessary, of course, for organizations to adopt and support multiple collaboration solutions. But there really can be such a thing as too much when it comes to these tools. It’s not just that the cost of purchasing and supporting more solutions will naturally be higher than the cost of purchasing and supporting fewer platforms. There’s also the danger of employees becoming confused about the differences among the various tools — and, therefore, using them less (or less effectively).

An unwieldly, sprawling collaboration environment can lead to an organization paying more for less productivity. Here are some steps we take to help business and IT leaders find the right mix of collaboration tools for their organizations.

A lot of attention gets paid in the press to “zero-day” threats — attacks that wreak havoc on organizations while they’re still completely unknown to the cybersecurity community. But the truth is that 60 percent of breaches are the result of known vulnerabilities that have been left unpatched.

The problem is that patching practices in many organizations are slow and disorganized. Too many teams are in charge of patching too many different systems, and security leaders typically lack visibility into who is staying on top of patching and who isn’t. The good news is that many organizations already have a powerful tool to help streamline vulnerability management — the service management platform ServiceNow. Although some organizations use the platform primarily to manage help desk tickets, it’s capable of much more. The solution can also help organizations shore up vulnerabilities across their IT environments.

Here’s how.